Michael Gielen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael (Andreas) Gielen (born in Dresden on July 20, 1927) is an Austrian conductor and composer.
The son of opera director Josef Gielen, he began his career as a pianist in Buenos Aires, where he studied with Erwin Leuchter and gave an early performance of Arnold Schoenberg's complete piano works in 1949. While serving as conductor and répétiteur at the Wiener Staatsoper (1950–60), he conducted much contemporary music outside the opera house. His next operatic appointment was as conductor of the Royal Opera in Stockholm (1960–65), followed by posts at the Netherlands Opera and the Frankfurt Opera. He was principal conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra (1969–73) and of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1980–86) amd has been closely associated with the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra since.
He has demonstrated a mastery of the most complex contemporary scores, and he has given many premières, including Helmut Lachenmann's Fassade and Klangschatten – mein Saitenspiel, György Ligeti's Requiem, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Carré and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter. He is also a noted conductor of the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler. As a composer, he has elaborated on the tradition of the Second Viennese School and his small oeuvre includes settings of poems by Hans Arp, Paul Claudel, Stefan George, and Pablo Neruda.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by André Cluytens |
Music Director, Belgian National Orchestra 1969–1971 |
Succeeded by André Vandernoot |
| Preceded by Thomas Schippers |
Music Director, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 1980–1986 |
Succeeded by Jesús López Cobos |
| Preceded by Kazimierz Kord |
Chief Conductor, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra 1986–1999 |
Succeeded by Sylvain Cambreling |
